1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the field of fanciful ornamental headgear of the type that people wear to identify themselves as being affiliated with a particular sports team or other organization. More specifically, the ornamental headgear includes facsimile animal horns or other fanciful objects that express affiliation with a sports team or other organization.
2. Statement of the Problem
Professional and collegiate sports fans are increasingly eager to add to the raucous spectacle of a sports event by wearing outlandish headgear. By way of example, a recent football game--the 1998 Superbowl between the Denver Broncos and the Green Bay Packers--included numerous instances where fans of the Packers wore large pieces of cheese on their heads. The cheese was real cheese in some cases. In other cases, the cheese was made of fabric stuffed with batting and designed to imitate the appearance of real cheese. These fans wore the cheese to make a public demonstration of their support for their team and to demonstrate their affiliation with a region of the country where cheese is made and from which the Packers find their base of support. Other instances of headgear worn to professional football events include instances where people wear crazy and illogical things on their head , e.g., a watermelon, with no demonstration of team affiliation. Fans of the New Orleans Saints have been known to wear bags over their heads.
Ornamental headgear design for sporting purposes is a stylish and trendy matter. The headgear is typically made of an integral construction that does not permit selective removal of the stylish and trendy ornamental features. This type of headgear rapidly fades into obsolescence with other trendy clothing and costume designs. An ornamental design that is in style this year for university or professional team affiliation may not be in style next year. Furthermore, a person may desire to have multiple pieces of headgear to accommodate different environments of use, e.g., an outdoor university football game in the rain versus an indoor university basketball game. The headgear can be fairly expensive, and many fans are only able to justify the purchase of one piece of headgear that is less than optimal for all environments.